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A somewhat clickbait title… but not without a certain grounding in reality.
The mythical Senegalese city of Saint-Louis — home to the famous Hôtel de la Poste, a historic stopover for pilots of the Aéropostale — lies on the Atlantic coast. For decades, it was protected from the ocean’s assaults by a natural sandbar: the Langue de Barbarie.
This coastal barrier played a crucial role. Sediments carried by the Senegal River were regularly deposited along its inner face, gradually reinforcing this natural defense. Fragile yet effective, this mechanism ensured the city’s protection against marine erosion.
A first imbalance appeared with the construction of the Diama Dam, upstream on the river. By reducing seasonal flooding, the dam limited the supply of fine sands and silts, gradually weakening the Langue de Barbarie.
The final blow came in 2003.
At that time, the city was regularly flooded during periods of high water. In addition, local fishermen wanted more direct access to the ocean—they had to go around the Langue de Barbarie to the south in order to reach it.
The tragic idea, therefore, was to open an artificial passage slightly south of the city, in order to buy time and facilitate water flow.
This led to the collapse of the entire ecosystem.
Under the combined forces of the ocean and the Senegal River — whose flow suddenly found a direct and violent outlet to the sea — the breach rapidly widened. A “funnel effect” accelerated the currents, intensifying erosion and causing the opening to expand uncontrollably.
Today, the protective role of the Langue de Barbarie has disappeared — or at the very least has been severely weakened. The consequences are dramatic: massive coastal erosion, particularly around the city of Saint-Louis, threatening entire neighborhoods, some of which have already had to be evacuated.
Since 2003, no fewer than 80,000 people have been forced to relocate along the Senegalese coastline.
Saint-Louis, once sheltered by a subtle natural balance, now finds itself on the front line, directly facing the ocean.
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